Journal of clinical epidemiology
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To determine clinically important differences (CIDs) in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after total hip replacement (THR) or total knee replacement (TKR) surgery, using the Short Form 36 (SF-36). ⋯ Valid and precise CIDs are estimated of PF, RP, BP, and SF, which are relevant in HRQoL subscales for THR and TKR patients. CIDs of all other subscales should be used cautiously.
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To describe the inaugural comparative effectiveness research (CER) cohort study of Washington State's Comparative Effectiveness Research Translation Network (CERTAIN), which compares invasive with noninvasive treatments for peripheral artery disease, and to focus on the patient centeredness of this cohort study by describing it within the context of a newly published conceptual framework for patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR). ⋯ The CERTAIN's inaugural cohort study may serve as a useful model for conducting PCOR and creating a learning health care network.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Urgent readmission rates can be used to infer differences in avoidable readmission rates between hospitals.
Most of the urgent readmissions are unavoidable. This study developed a method that used observed urgent readmission rates to compare the latent avoidable readmission rates between the two hospitals. ⋯ Urgent readmission rates can be used to estimate the probability that avoidable readmission rates differ significantly between the two hospitals. The probability that avoidable readmission rates differ significantly between hospitals is small even when significant differences in urgent 30-day readmission rates exist. Our results show that 30-day urgent readmission rates should be used very cautiously to compare hospital quality of care.
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Multicenter Study
Patients' regrets after participating in a randomized controlled trials depended on their involvement in the decision making.
To identify the factors associated with long-term regrets expressed a posteriori by randomized controlled trial (RCT) participants questioned about their decision to participate in an RCT. ⋯ Whether patients' regret depended on their level of participation in the decision making or vice versa could not be determined in this cross-sectional survey, but efforts should be made to ensure that patients' participation in trials is always based on an active personal decision.
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Multicenter Study
The use of weekly text messaging over 6 months was a feasible method for monitoring the clinical course of low back pain in patients seeking chiropractic care.
This study critically evaluates a new method of collecting frequent data using mobile phones and text messages. Fluctuating conditions such as low back pain (LBP) need frequent monitoring to describe the clinical course in detail and to account for individual and subgroup variations. ⋯ Weekly text messages are a useful method of data collection to examine the clinical course of LBP in the primary care sector.